1800s
The 1800s decade lasted from January 1, 1800, to December 31, 1809. The term "eighteen-hundreds" can also mean the years between 1800 and 1899 (the years beginning with "18"), and is almost synonymous with the (1801–1900). This article refers to the decade comprising 1800–1809. Overview Politics and wars , who led the French army to conquer a substantial portion of Europe during this time.}} Napoleonic Wars The European political landscape was dominated by the , a series of conflicts declared against 's and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to the application of modern . French power rose quickly, conquering most of Europe by the end of the decade. The decade brought hard times. On 9 November 1799 ( ), Napoleon overthrew the French government, replacing it with the , in which he was First Consul. On 2 December 1804, after a failed assassination plot, he crowned himself . In 1805, Napoleon planned to invade Britain, but a renewed British alliance with Russia and Austria ( ), forced him to turn his attention towards the continent, while at the same time failure to lure the superior British fleet away from the , ending in a decisive French defeat at the on 21 October put an end to hopes of an invasion of Britain. On 2 December 1805, Napoleon defeated a numerically superior Austro-Russian army at , forcing Austria's withdrawal from the coalition (see ) and dissolving the . In 1806, a was set up, on 14 October Napoleon defeated the Prussians at the , marched through Germany and defeated the Russians on 14 June 1807 at . The divided Europe between France and Russia and created the . The , fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the and the against the French Empire and . Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of from April to July, with very high casualty rates. Britain, already involved on the European continent in the ongoing , sent another expedition, the , to the Netherlands in order to relieve the Austrians, although this effort had little impact on the outcome of the conflict. After much campaigning in Bavaria and across the , the war ended favorably for the French after the bloody struggle at in early July, resulting in the . Although fighting in the continued, the War of the Fifth Coalition was the last major conflict on the European continent until the in 1812 sparked the . Other wars and political upheavals * End of the (1796–1804), an uprising against the in . * Beginning of the between Russia and the . * The (1801–1805) is fought between the United States and the of North Africa. * End of the (1800). * The (1803–1805) is fought between the on one side and minor chieftains of the Maratha Confederacy , and on the other resulting in a crushing defeat of the rebel chieftains and the breakup of the Maratha confederacy. * The (1804–1810) is fought in present-day and . * The (1804−1813) marks the first time in 300 years perceives itself an independent state. * gains from France on January 1, 1804. Slavery This decade marked the height of the to the United States. During the period of 1798 and 1808, approximately 200,000 slaves were imported from Africa to the United States. Still, the movement began to gain ground in this period. Britain enacted the , which barred the trade of slaves in Great Britain (though slavery was still legal). The United States enacted a similar ban in 1808. However, Napoleon revoked the French Empire's ban on slavery with the . Prominent political events * 1801 ** Under the , , a new and of the , was placed under the jurisdiction of the . ** The and the merge into the in 1801. * 1803 ** United States doubles its size with territories gained from in the . World leaders * North America ** United States *** President (1797–1801) *** President (1801–1809) *** President (1809–1817) ** Haiti *** (1801–1806) *** (Republic of Haiti) (1806–1818) *** (State/Kingdom of Haiti) (1807–1820) * Western Europe ** Emperor ( ) ** ** King (Sweden) ** King (Sweden) ** King (Denmark) and (Norway) (1766–1808) ** King (Denmark) (1808–1839) and (Norway) (1808–1814) ** First Consul/Emperor ( / ) ** King (United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarve) (1792–1826) ** King , ( ) ** King (Spain) * Eastern Europe ** (Russia) ** Tsar (Russia) ** *** (1789–1807) *** (1807–1808) *** (1808–1839) ** ( ) * Asia ** of China ( ) ** ** 1759–1806 ** 1806–1837 ** ( of the ) ** Maharaja ( ) 1801–1839 ** of ( ) Colonies Science and technology Electricity .}} This decade contained some of the earliest experiments in . In 1800 constructed a , the first device to produce a large electric current, later known as the . , informed of his works, summoned him in 1801 for a command performance of his experiments. He received many medals and decorations, including the . Also in 1800, and succeeded in decomposing water into and by . Soon thereafter Ritter discovered the process of . He also observed that the amount of metal deposited and the amount of oxygen produced during an electrolytic process depended on the distance between the s. By 1801 Ritter observed and anticipated the discovery of thermoelectricity by . In 1806, decomposed potash and soda, employing a voltaic pile of approximately 250 cells, showing that these substances were respectively the oxides of potassium and sodium, which metals previously had been unknown. Employing a battery of 2,000 elements of a voltaic pile and charcoal enclosed in a vacuum, Davy gave the first public demonstration of the electric in 1809. }} Steam transportation started to become viable during this decade. In 1803, 's , generally considered to be the world's first practical , made her first voyage. Later, in 1807, 's , the world's first commercially successful steamboat, made her maiden voyage. In , ran a full-sized steam ' ' on the road in , followed by his 10-seater in 1803. In 1804, Trevithick built a prototype steam-powered . The first railway began operating during this time. The in Great Britain was established by the British Parliament in 1801, and began operation on 26 July 1803. The railway relied on horse-drawn haulage than powered locomotives. In , made a gas-powered vehicle, the first vehicle powered by an . James Watt creates first steam engine based on Newcomen's design. Astronomy * The first known are discovered in this decade: ** (January 1, 1801). Ceres is reclassified as a in 2006. ** (March 28, 1802) ** (September 1, 1804) ** (March 29, 1807) Other advances * Invention of the in 1801. * is discovered by in 1801. * is gradually adopted by various of the world. * is isolated from for the first time in 1804. * develops a method to preserve food by means of in 1809. * publishes his atomic theory 1803. Culture * The end of the following the beginning of the in the . Music * 's premiers in Vienna in 1800. * are published by in 1802. * by is completed in 1804. * by is completed in 1805. * and by are completed in 1806. * by is completed in 1807. * completes both his and in 1808. Fashion Fashion in this period in an and European-influenced countries saw the final triumph of undress or informal styles over the , , , and powder of the earlier . }} Fashionable women's clothing styles were based on the — dresses were closely fitted to the torso just under the bust, falling loosely below. Inspired by neoclassical tastes, the short-waisted gowns sported soft, flowing skirts and were often made of white, almost transparent , which was easily washed and draped loosely like the garments on Greek and Roman statues. No respectable woman would leave the house without a hat or . The antique head-dress, or Queen Mary , Chinese hat, Oriental inspired turban, and Highland helmet were popular. As for bonnets, their crowns and brims were adorned with increasingly elaborate ornamentations, such as feathers and ribbons. In fact, ladies of the day embellished their hats frequently, replacing old decorations with new trims or feathers. 1800–1809 was the height of ism in men's fashion in Europe, following the example of . Older men, military officers, and those in conservative professions such as lawyers and physicians retained their and powder into this period, but younger men of fashion wore their hair in short curls, often with long sideburns. This period saw the final abandonment of , , and other embellishment from serious men's clothing outside of formalized . Instead, cut and tailoring became much more important as an indicator of quality. Other * , 1809 – : manages to attract dozens of people to 54 Berners Street in . Wikisource reference work * History that in part contains six chapters of narration remarking upon significant individuals of that era with added wikilinks linking back to their Wikipedia articles References Category:Modern history